MUSINGS: Takeaways, and where to go following Saturday's loss to Baylor

FinalFourCy

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Wisely? Not at all! We've shown that we can run the football pretty effectively. This team is NOT built to be a pass first offense. It just feels like TM gets way too impatient with the 3-4 yard runs...
I agree, and I don’t think that conflicts with gojng as Purdy goes. We can have Purdy be our focal point without passing 40+ times when it’s not advantageous.

Purdy’s our wildcard, he shouldn’t be our everything. Also, I think we’re feeling the loss of Newell a bit. He was our best at pulling and facilitating using the running backs in the pass game to slow the rush.
 
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jsb

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What are you talking about? I never crap on Iowa State. I have been an Iowa State fan for 45 years. I have seen it all. Go ahead and be ok with 2-2. I think we should be 4-0 and have no played to our ability. Maybe go start more threads with the rest of the people saying "We were the better team" and "The heat on our sidelines was hot". Ill stick with win the game or shut up.

Oh come on. You have a bit of a valid point if you can take away some of your ********. But you crap on Iowa State at least 75% of the time. When is the last time you posted a truly positive take?
 

2forISU

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As mentioned in other post, we need the o-line to play better and be consistent. It's a yo-yo from game-to-game.
 
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Knownothing

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Oh come on. You have a bit of a valid point if you can take away some of your ********. But you crap on Iowa State at least 75% of the time. When is the last time you posted a truly positive take?


I have some takes that are to be funny. Like not betting on Iowa State football or doing Iowa State football things. That happens after seeing almost every possible way to lose a game. However, I never say we suck or dog on players.
 

snowcraig2.0

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Couple points, Jirehl Brock I thought ran it once 4th and one and got stuffed. Baylors defense looked really good, great closing speed and looked to have more horses on defense than ISU does. I haven't seen a QB get that beat up in a long time, Purdy was getting killed, seemed like every other play. He's a tough SOB. I swear a couple times I thought they would need a shovel to get Purdy out of the ground.

That was Croney.
 

mdk2isu

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That 4th and 1 from the 40 on the third possession was just brutal. Heavy package overloaded left side and stuffed at the line. Finishing that drive with points would have meant a lot. Miss the days of the Joeldozer to line up and get those when we need them.

Might have been a good situation for Mitchell. Get him on a roll out with the option to run and I like his chances of getting 1 yard.
 

FinalFourCy

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So if we are viewing 2-2 with wins over UNI and Middle Tennessee state or whatever that teams name was as being a great start, we are miserable a holes or can we look at what it really is and say we should be 4-0 with wins over Baylor and Iowa as well? I guess moral victories are thing now with Iowa State. I thought we were past that.
No, 2-2 and being 5 points from 4-0 is very disappointing. It’s not a definitive statement on this team being the fraud you allude to.

There are only 12 games, so these losses are huge missed opportunities and thus this season is already in what-if territory, but this team is essentially the 9 win team most of us envisioned. Outcomes are binary, quality of play is not.
 
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snowcraig2.0

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I was going to start my own thread, but I'll put it here.

We lost by one to a top 15 team during a 7 hour game where we made a couple really dumb mistakes.

We lost by two on the road to a undefeated team where the conditions were a little unfair, to say the least.

I think with a healthy Kene all year, we are 4-0.

I still think 9 wins are possible, but we need an answer at RB.
 

Knownothing

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No, 2-2 and being 5 points from 4-0 is very disappointing. It’s not a definitive statement on this team being the fraud you allude to.

There are only 12 games, so these losses are huge missed opportunities and thus this season is already in what-if territory, but this team is essentially the 9 win team most of us envisioned. Outcomes are binary, quality of play is not.


We are also one lucky fumble recovery from being 1-3.
 

Malone

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I think we'll see the staff finally decide to utilize one/both freshmen running backs against TCU, which needed to be done during the Baylor game. We've talked about RPO and Purdy maybe not making the right read sometimes, but it's more so that he trusts himself more to make a higher yield play than Croney. Handing the ball to Croney is essentially conceding a play. That change alone would make a huge difference in getting things in the right direction. Jirehl Brock looks like the answer to some of our running issues, and he can't get a carry because....?

Somebody else in maybe another thread commented on bright minds rising quickly in the coaching profession. I think that there are bright minds on the staff and hope that they are learning from the same mistake they've made two seasons in a row - being so risk-averse that it has placed the balance of the season on upperclassmen (Kempt, Noland, Croney) when there has been far exceeding younger talent rotting on the bench. That cannot continue in the future. For a staff that talks about winning in the margins and doing the little things to not understand that margin for error increases with better talent playing is frustrating.

Yes, Hall and Jirehl haven't been with the program for as long as Sheldon Croney. But if a staff is giving the bulk of the load to a low-talent running back simply because he's been with the program longer and can provide pass protection, I question that staff's thought process. You find a way to get the ball to playmakers, period.
 
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isufbcurt

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Also, I'd like to note we wasted 1 of Jirehl's 4 games against Baylor. Jirehl came in for 1 play, 1 f-ing play, what a waste of a game for him. At least against ULM he got some playing time and some chances to run the ball.

The RB use and rotation makes absolutely no sense. I'd love for a media person to ask about that.
 

DSMCy

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Also, I'd like to note we wasted 1 of Jirehl's 4 games against Baylor. Jirehl came in for 1 play, 1 f-ing play, what a waste of a game for him. At least against ULM he got some playing time and some chances to run the ball.

The RB use and rotation makes absolutely no sense. I'd love for a media person to ask about that.
I take that to mean they think he'll end up being the starter very soon. They want to get him on the field to get used to these situations; on the road, tight game, etc. But they just don't quite trust him.

They did the exact same thing with Purdy last year. Brought him in against Akron to just kneel the final play. At the time, it made no sense. Then the next week, he's starting against OSU.

If it doesn't turn out this way, and Jirehl ends up barely playing in 5 games, then I agree, it makes no sense.
 

FinalFourCy

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We are also one lucky fumble recovery from being 1-3.
Right. If you’re familiar with our strategy, generally every game will be close.

So you thought we’d have a great kicker? Otherwise the quality of play has been essentially what we’ve seen the past two years.
 

isufbcurt

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I take that to mean they think he'll end up being the starter very soon. They want to get him on the field to get used to these situations; on the road, tight game, etc. But they just don't quite trust him.

They did the exact same thing with Purdy last year. Brought him in against Akron to just kneel the final play. At the time, it made no sense. Then the next week, he's starting against OSU.

If it doesn't turn out this way, and Jirehl ends up barely playing in 5 games, then I agree, it makes no sense.

If that was the case you bring him back in against Baylor and give him at least 1 carry. But the one play he was in was a pass play where he had to block. It was a waste of a game for him.
 

spitfyr36

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I agree, and I don’t think that conflicts with gojng as Purdy goes. We can have Purdy be our focal point without passing 40+ times when it’s not advantageous.

Purdy’s our wildcard, he shouldn’t be our everything. Also, I think we’re feeling the loss of Newell a bit. He was our best at pulling and facilitating using the running backs in the pass game to slow the rush.

It does concern me a little bit that the offense seems to resemble 2002 when the coaching staff basically put everything on Seneca. Now, if thats Purdy making choices in the RPO or actual design, idk.
The staff needs to just give Lang the green light at rb. Pick a guy and stay with him. 15-20 touches a game.
 

CycloneVet

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How is 4 games into it a knee jerk reaction? That is like saying WIlliams wrote this using a knee jerk reaction.

A knee jerk would be right after the game. We are two and two with our only wins being against lessor teams.

IMO every team you beat is lesser and every team you lose to is better on the days you play them.
 
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WastedTalent

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The number of miserable a-holes that just can't wait to bit** and moan drives me nuts. You guys act like we just went on the road and lost to a crappy team.

"It's never as good or as bad as you think it is"
I'll for sure agree with your last quote. No, the loss to Baylor isn't cause for panic. Imo, they were the 3rd best team we played last year, and escaped with a win at home. Losing to them on the road, in miserable conditions, is not the end of the world.

However, it is concerning to be very average in the month of September every year under Campbell. While it does not define the season, it certainly puts a cap on the high ceiling. We may look back and see Iowa and Baylor in the top 20 to end the season, which would excuse a couple close losses, or Baylor may end up like the TCU game, and we'll be thinking what if.
 

iowastatefan1929

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However, it is concerning to be very average in the month of September every year under Campbell. While it does not define the season, it certainly puts a cap on the high ceiling. We may look back and see Iowa and Baylor in the top 20 to end the season, which would excuse a couple close losses, or Baylor may end up like the TCU game, and we'll be thinking what if.

I really dont see it as a negative by putting a cap on the ceiling.
We dont need to be playing in big games where we arent ready to win imo.
When we are ready to win the big time games, we will win in September.
I do not think Baylor will end up being top 20, but Iowa will.
Baylor played their best game they will play for a month imo.
KSU will beat them this weekend quite possibly.